The 2025 NBA Draft kicks off on June 25, and it's widely expected that Cooper Flagg will go No. 1 overall to the Dallas Mavericks. Leading up to the draft, the former Duke Blue Devils star has received plenty of interesting comparisons in the league. However, one former player turned heads after comparing Flagg to future Hall of Famer LeBron James.

During a guest appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” former NBA forward Brian Scalabrine named James as Flagg's NBA comparison. Scalabrine explained that Cooper Flagg's mind for the game is something that reminds him of LeBron James.

“I think it's LeBron James, without having to be 260 pounds, and like a freight train. Cooper Flagg is a supercomputer… Everything you tell him within 24 hours, he's figured it out… I've been around [a lot] of Hall of Fame players.

“I've never met someone [who] just can pick up things at such a high rate… He just processes at a rate that I've never seen before. So I'm only assuming that it's [like] LeBron James.”

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Based on Scalabrine's story about Flagg, it sure sounds like the 18-year-old forward's mind was built in a lab specifically for him to play basketball. On top of having a high basketball IQ, Cooper Flagg brings plenty of size and athleticism to the table as well. At 6-foot-9, he's pegged to be a power forward in the NBA who has the ability to score from nearly anywhere on the court.

Flagg enters the NBA Draft after playing just one year at Duke. During his one-year stint with the Blue Devils, the 2024 National Player of the Year averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc through 37 games played.

He also averaged 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per contest, making him an intriguing option on the defensive end.